Lunch was drawing to a close, and we made our way back to the classroom.
Since the next period was PE, we grabbed our gym clothes and headed to one of the vacant rooms to change. As usual, Kakizaki threw a few "temptations" my way, but I brushed them off with practiced ease. I was more concerned by the faint trickle of blood escaping Ayaka's nose, but I decided it was best not to ask.
Once changed, I stepped out into the hall and ran straight into the girls from Class 2-A, who had just finished dressing as well.
"Axel? You're fast," Asuna remarked, blinking in surprise.
It made sense that she'd find it unexpected. From her perspective, I'd gone to a different room to change and yet somehow beat them to the punch.
"Unlike you girls, men don't need an eternity to get ready," I replied.
Well, maybe that's not true for everyone—some guys are obsessed with their appearance—but in my case, I keep it quick. I might be playing the role of a student at Mahora Academy, but at my core, I'm a soldier. The habit of dressing in seconds was beaten into me during my days at the juvenile military academy.
"So, what's on the agenda for PE today?" I asked.
"Volleyball. We're heading up to the roof," she answered.
We chatted as we climbed the stairs, but the moment we stepped onto the roof, we hit a literal wall.
"Oh, what a coincidence. We meet again."
Standing there was the group of older girls who had been badgering Asuna and Ayaka during lunch.
"The same ones from earlier?" I muttered.
"Exactly," Asuna hissed. "What is the Upper School even doing on the Middle School roof?"
One of the older girls, clearly the ringleader, wore a smirk of supreme confidence. "We have a self-study period, so we've decided to use this space for volleyball. And you lot?"
"W-we have an actual class! Volleyball too!" Asuna stammered.
"Oh? Sounds like a double booking," the leader mused, her tone dripping with mock sympathy.
"Wh-why does it always have to be like this…?" Yuuna Akashi groaned from behind Asuna, her face buried in her hands.
I ignored the drama for a moment and turned my attention to the older students. "Mind if I ask a simple question?"
"Oh?" The leader looked at me, then gestured to the small figure they were crowding around. "Are you with them too? Or are you here for this little thing?"
She stepped aside to reveal they were practically holding Negi hostage.
"…Negi."
"A-Ah, Axel-kun! I'm so sorry," Negi squeaked, looking utterly helpless. "The PE teacher had an urgent errand and couldn't make it, so I came up to sub, and then..."
And then he got caught by a pack of high school girls. I met his eyes—which were radiating a desperate "save me" aura—and promptly looked away.
"You're abandoning me!?" he cried.
"Anyway, about that question," I continued, ignoring his outburst.
"And you're just moving on!?"
"Negi, be quiet for a second. Now, back to my question… Why exactly is an Upper School 'self-study' session taking place on the Middle School roof?"
"Well, that's… I mean…" The girl faltered, her smirk twitching.
"Furthermore," I pressed, "even if you are studying, we are here for an official, scheduled lesson. Isn't the priority here a self-evident truth?"
Asuna leaned over and whispered to Yuuna, "Hey, Yuuna. What's a 'self-evident truth'?"
"Honestly, Asuna, you really are the leader of the Idiot Rangers. It means… uh, basically something that's so obvious nobody needs to prove it. Just remember it like that."
"Ah, got it. Then yeah, it's definitely a self-evident truth!" Asuna declared, nodding firmly.
"Well… maybe," the older girl stammered, "but during lunch, your friends were the ones insisting on 'finders keepers'!"
"That was lunch," I countered. "This is a legitimate class."
"You… you're not nearly as cute as this little guy," the girl huffed. To emphasize her point, she squeezed Negi even tighter against her. The sudden, suffocating proximity did exactly what I feared it would.
"H-H-Achon!"
A stray strand of the girl's hair tickled Negi's nose, triggering a sneeze. In that instant, his magic flared out of control. A violent gust of wind erupted from him, swirling across the roof like a localized cyclone.
Fortunately, the Flabellum Ejectorium—the clothes-stripping spell—didn't trigger. Since the 2-A students were already in their gym kits, they were fine, but the high school girls were still in their uniforms. The wind made a disaster of their skirts.
As for me? I saw nothing. Chizuru had appeared behind me out of nowhere and clamped her hands over my eyes with surgical precision.
"Um, everyone! Solving things with violence or conflict is wrong!" Negi shouted, finally finding his footing. "How about we settle this with a match? If we sweat it out through sports, I'm sure all this unpleasantness will just melt away!"
"Fine by me," the leader said, smoothing her skirt and flashing a confident grin. She clearly didn't think for a second that they could lose to middle schoolers. "If we lose, we'll leave the court and promise not to bother you during lunch starting tomorrow. Deal?"
"Hold on! The age and height difference is totally unfair!" Asuna barked, stepping up to challenge them.
I let out a long, weary sigh and looked at Negi. "Negi, were you even listening to me? If you'd let me keep talking, I could have talked them into leaving normally."
"I know, but… even if they left now, I feel like they'd just keep coming back tomorrow and the day after."
He had a point. If they were willing to hike all the way from the Upper School buildings just to harass younger students, a simple logical defeat wouldn't stop them. They'd just find a new excuse. In that sense, Negi's instinct to settle it "properly" wasn't entirely wrong. However…
"We could always just call Nitta-sensei from student discipline," I suggested.
The moment the name "Nitta" left my lips, the high school girls visibly flinched. Nitta-sensei—better known as "Nitta the Ogre"—was famous throughout the entire campus for being an absolute terror to delinquents.
"Th-that's cowardly!" the leader shrieked.
"There's nothing cowardly about it. You're obstructing a class. If I report this along with the incident from lunch, I doubt Negi will have to worry about future harassment."
"But this is my class's problem," Negi murmured, looking down. "I should be the one to solve it."
"Listen to me, kid. Using someone else's strength to achieve a goal isn't a bad thing. Besides, nobody can solve everything entirely on their own."
"…Is that how it works?"
"At least, that's how I see it. It's how I've always operated." (Though in my case, it was usually just leaving the heavy lifting to the maintenance crew like Lemon and the others.)
"I… I guess you're right." Negi nodded slowly, then looked at the girls. "Okay! I'll do as Axel-kun says and go call Nitta-sensei!"
"Wait, wait, WAIT!" the girls screamed in unison.
Ignoring them, Negi slipped out of their grasp and bolted for the exit.
"Well," I said, leaning back. "Now we just wait for the Ogre to arrive."
"You… you little brat! Calling a teacher because you can't win a fight! You're despicable!"
"I don't see why I should fight a match I have no reason to play in the first place," I replied flatly.
"Is it just me, or is Axel-kun kind of a master tactician?" I heard Asakura whispering in the background. I pretended not to hear her. Calling this tactical was an insult to real strategists.
"F-Fine! We're leaving! We'll let you have it today! Let's go, girls!"
Realizing that staying meant a confrontation with Nitta—and knowing they had no leg to stand on—the Upper Schoolers beat a hasty retreat. They scrambled toward the stairs, desperate to vanish before the discipline master arrived.
They seemed to have forgotten one thing, though: Negi had already gone to find him. Even if they escaped the roof, a lecture from their homeroom teacher was inevitable.
Suddenly, a roar echoed from inside the building.
"YOU LOT! I hear from Negi-sensei that you've been causing trouble again!"
I winced. It sounded like they'd run straight into him in the stairwell.
"KYAAAAA! WE'RE SORRY!"
"Get over here, all of you!"
"WE'LL REMEMBER THIIIIIIIS!" their voices faded into the distance, followed by the heavy thud of Nitta's boots.
The roof fell silent. A moment later, Negi poked his head back out the door. "Um… was that okay?"
"I'd give you a passing grade as a student teacher," I said. "You were a bit of a toy for them at the start, but calling Nitta was a solid recovery. Let's call it a net neutral."
"It was all thanks to your advice, Axel-kun! Now then, everyone—we've lost a bit of time, but let's start PE! Volleyball, right?"
"You bet!"
"Negi-sensei, play with us!"
"Eh? But Narutaki-san, I'm the teacher…"
"Oh, don't be so stiff! Come on, let's play!"
The Sasaki and Narutaki twins dragged Negi onto the court. I watched them go, satisfied.
"Well, I think I'll just go spectate with Eva and Chachamaru…" I started to turn away, but a hand clamped firmly onto my shoulder.
"Now, now, Axel-kun. You need to participate in class too, don't you?"
I turned around to find Chizuru. She was smiling, but there was an intense, shadowy pressure behind it that suggested "no" wasn't an option.
And so, despite my best efforts to be efficient, I was dragged onto the court to join the chaos.
Status Report
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 38
PP: 625
Stats: Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evasion: 302 | Accuracy: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder / Special
Terrain Ratings: Air: S | Land: S | Sea: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (Cost: 4)
Effort (Cost: 8)
Focus (Cost: 16)
Direct Attack (Cost: 30)
Awaken (Cost: 32)
Love (Cost: 48)
Skills: EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Regen & Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv.10,
Attacker, Gunfight Lv.9,
Infight Lv.9, Morale Limit Break
Geass (Grey)
Magic (Fire/Shadow/Summon)
???, ???
Total Kills: 376
-------------------------------
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